bought a new case....

[xbassman]

Thermaltake SViking VA4000BWS

My son's birthday is coming up and he picked this one.
Since yesterday NewEgg put up more pics and it looks like it is going to be better than I initially thought.

I'm still trying to figure out what the purple box is in the HD bays.

 

[Mik3y]

wow, that thermaltake case isnt half bad. i've always thought they were to be the ugliest ones out there, but that one looks pretty cool. also, i have yet to find a case pic that looks better in the pic then in person, so it should look awesome when it finally comes.

 

[Degrador]

It's possible that purple box just contiains the screws and things for the case, but it is a big guess. Can't think of much other reason for it though.

 

[Zepper]

Yeah, it's the loose parts box - basically useless, but impresses the rubes... Some of the Ahanix boxes come with one that even has a Phillips screwdriver. And that case looks a lot like the Antec Sonata/SLK3700BQE (which can currently be had for ~$15. less due to Free Shipping) . I don't care for the sidesaddle HD cage (I like the SLK3700AMB better - particularly if the hard drives are PATA), but other than that it's a good design.
.bh.

 

[iseethemtoo]

Hey is that case new?

I spotted it on Newegg yesterday, but I been looking at cases for 2 weeks now and when I saw it yesterday I was sure i hadnt seen it before....

 

[xbassman]

Originally posted by: iseethemtoo
Hey is that case new?

I spotted it on Newegg yesterday, but I been looking at cases for 2 weeks now and when I saw it yesterday I was sure i hadnt seen it before....

I think it is...
I have been out of town and we checked yesterday. That's when my son decided he had to have it.
NewEgg had only 1 pic, but Thermaltake's site had more info. Today NewEgg has a bunch of pics and Thermaltake's info is down.

Go figure

 

[xbassman]

Well I rec'd this case yesterday.
My son left for work so I decided to open the box and check it out.

Looks pretty solid, might have some vibration issues on the rear 120mm fan. It's plastic holder doesn't fit snug. I see a lot of obstruction for the front intake fan.

My biggest problem looks like it is going to be cable management. It looks like Thermaltake (or whoever actually manufactured it) totally disreguarded cable management it the design.
I thought the side mount hd cage would, at least, be pretty good for hiding cables. When I took off the back cover I see a solid piece with only a pass-thru hole under the power supply area. Not to mention that clearance from the door is only about 3/8". There is NO access to the back of the HD bays!

I had better charge up my dremel, cause it looks like I am gonna have to cut quite a bit to make this a reasonably neat install.

 

[Zepper]

I think you will find that they intend for the hard drives to be mounted in the bays Nose First. Yes, I mean with the messy cable end in plain view... Not a good arrangement if you are mainly running PATA drives but just fine for SATA or SCSI.. That's why I said above that I don't like sidesaddle drive bays - though with some it is possible to dress the cables out the back. It might be possible to origami (gentle folds, please - so as not to break wires) your flat cables out thru the large slots in the side of the HD rack, but you will probably have to leave the noses of the drives sticking out a bit. Just try to put an optical and a hard drive on the same flat cable (which is probably the best arrangement if you have a pair of each) w/o buying extra-long ones.
.bh.

It's the weekend. Have a :beer: !

 

[xbassman]

Thanks for the info Zepper.

I am going to move all the components over to this case next weekend.
I think I will mock up the install with some old drives first this week sometime to see how the wires will run best.

Actually I have never seen one of these side facing bays loaded before. what were they thinking setting it up to mount cable side out. Especially in a case with a window!

The case looks really nice from the outside, but I cannot except clutter. I am probably going to use round cables for the drives since they won't hide behind anything.

 

[Zepper]

Would probably work OK to origami the flat cables in under or over the drives then out thru the side slots. Round cables aren't as easily bent and folded - others have mentioned that they tend to cramp up against the window. Looks great... riiight.
.bh.

 

[Cerb]

It's not gaudy--but it says Thermaltake!
It's not tacky--but it says Thermaltake!
It doesn't have ten gazillion fan mounts--but it says Thermaltake!

The only problem I can see with it is the .8mm steel. If you're worried about noise at all, that's generally not a good thing. But if that was taken into the design considerations, all could be OK. It almost looks like the Antec SLK3700-xxx (Casetek, IIRC), which is a very good case for cooling and quiet.

 

[trexpesto]

Wow your kid is smart! The kingwin kt-424's nice too.

 

[xbassman]

Originally posted by: trexpesto
Wow your kid is smart! The kingwin kt-424's nice too.

:roll:

Yeah...I wish he would have picked the Kingwin.
I showed it to him, but this was all about looks. And I've gotta admit it wins that catagory.

 

[trexpesto]

kt-424 has it's own shortcomings, like no front audio; this looks pretty great with the LCD and all.